Creator of world-first brain chip says technology is at a ‘tipping point’

Decades after the first brain chip enabled a paralysed person to move a cursor on a screen, turn words into speech and control a robotic arm, the creator behind the technology believes the devices are at a “tipping point” and could soon control speech or a computer.

Professor John Donoghue, who created the first brain chip called BrainGate at Brown University in Rhode Island, won the Queen Elizabeth Prize for engineering this month.

Through clinical trials, the BrainGate team continues to make strides in using brain-computer interfaces to restore function lost to neurological injury or illness.

One example, among a dozen other companies, is Elon Musk's Neuralink. The technology is based on Professor Donoghue’s early work, which saw electrodes connected to a computer chip that can detect nerve signals in the brain.

There have already been 12 clinical trial patients who use the Neuralink devices to control computers with their thoughts. The tech billionaire believes future capabilities could include streaming music directly to the brain, restoring vision for blind people, and enabling superhuman levels of communication through telepathy.

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Researchers in San Francisco have also developed a robot arm that receives signals from the brain to a computer, allowing a man who could not speak or move to interact with objects.

But when the brain chip was first created, scientists did not know whether a paralysed person had any brain activity associated with movement.

“At the time, we didn't know whether a paralysed person would have any brain activity at all associated with movement,” Professor Donoghue said.

“There were people who thought maybe that whole area of the brain just shuts down. We showed that there was not only activity, but a lot of it. The question then became: What can we do with it?”

But when the team turned the device on for the first time it was busy with brain activity, proving their critics wrong. The brain chip was able to decode signals from the motor cortex of a volunteer’s brain to turn words into speech and move a robotic arm.

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Decades later, devices are only just going into clinical trials, because making implants safe enough to stay in the brain forever is difficult. Professor Donoghue explained that heat from the device and possible infections are hurdles.

"If you have a device that's got a processor of electronics on it, it gets hot, just like your phone gets really hot," he told Sky News, explaining that the brain can only tolerate a degree or two.

However, he believes well-funded companies like Neuralink are likely to get a device approved to help people with severe paralysis.

"We are I think at a tipping point,” he added. “If you want to control a computer, or you want to be able to restore speech, I think there's no reason why we can't see those as fast as somebody can produce a device that's approved.”